Chuck vs the Fish
by disabrina
Summary: Chuck takes Sarah to the pet shop to get her a new fish.


_Hi! This is my first fanfic ever. SLWF made me write it and told me the main subject, and I promised her I'd finish and upload it before the first episode of the Third Season of Chuck airs. _

_kroblues beta'd it, and I was happy to see that i had really few mistakes :)_

_Oh and maybe you should know, that I breed fighting fish and also have goldfish at home ;)  
_

Chuck vs. the Fish

It was a sunny, warm day in Burbank, California. It was 5 p.m. and Chuck's shift at the Buy More had just ended. He rushed to the locker room, took out his bag and sprinted over to the Orange Orange where Sarah was serving one of the few customers, selling him an Obama Guava froyo.

Chuck waited patiently near the entrance for the customer to leave. "Hi Sarah! How was your day? Many customers?" he grinned.

"Hey Chuck! Same old, same old, as you might have guessed. What's the occasion?"

"Well, I was wondering what happened to the Goldfish you once had in your room. I mean, I guess he died a few months ago, because I haven't seen his bowl anywhere in your room, so I thought we could go to the pet store and maybe get you a new one, you know, so you'd have someone keeping you company when you're all alone…"

"You want to go to a pet shop with me and buy me a new fish? Are you serious?"

"Of course I am! Shall we go?"

"You're really funny, ok, let's go, I just need to close the store and then I'm ready."

They went to the parking lot, got into Sarah's Porsche and drove to the nearest PetSmart. Standing in front of the wall filled with Aquariums, they were stunned by just how many different shaped and sized fish were swimming around in those colorful and planted tanks.

"Oh look! Piranhas! They look really scary with those teeth…" Chuck exclaimed.

"Yeah, but they only attack you if they smell blood. Too bad they're way too large for a goldfish bowl" Sarah stated.

"Wow, this Goldfish looks as if he had his brains on top of his head! And that one has really big eyes!" Chuck was in awe.

"I've never seen Goldfish like that…are you sure they really are Goldfish?" Sarah asked.

"Of course, it's even written on the tank. Do you like any of these? Or would you prefer one of those normal ones which look like the one you used to have?"

"Awww… I like the little black one there in the back of the tank with the buggy eyes. He's so cute. Now if there was a sales person around…. Where are those guys? Ah there's one, I'll go get him while you wait here and make sure that no one fishes out that little bugger before I get him, alright?"

"Sure, sweetie" Chuck teased.

Sarah walked towards the sales person after giving Chuck a smile that had crept upon her face when he called her 'sweetie'. She knew this was just meant to be for their cover, but she couldn't help thinking that it might also be a part of their thing under the undercover thing showing up here and there. She asked the sales clerk if he could maybe catch a goldfish for her. He eventually processed her question after having a slight shock from being spoken to by a woman like Sarah. Following her like a puppy and not being able to keep his eyes off her, they arrived in front of the Goldfish tank where she gave Chuck a peck on the lips and thus throwing the sales guy out of the clouds and back to the floor.

As he was about to get the net to catch the fish, he asked what size tank she had and what other fish were inside.

"I have this goldfish bowl at home with a few blue stones on the ground. Why, is there anything wrong with that?" she asked him.

"Umm…" he stammered, "Goldfish should be kept in larger tanks and in groups of at least 3 fish…ideally…and…uh…a filter would be needed too, because they produce a lot of dirt and in order for the water quality to be stable and good for the fish you should um…set up your aquarium about 3 to 4 weeks with water, gravel, plants and a filter before putting a fish inside…you know…so the whole biological system will work…and your fish will be healthy and live longer."

"So you're saying we can't have any fish in that bowl? But her late fish lived for quite some time in there you know. Aren't there any fish that don't need all this equipment? 'Cause we don't have that much space and we actually just wanted one fish…" Chuck inquired.

"Well, there's this one fish that is best kept alone in a relatively small tank. It's a fighting fish and it doesn't really need any filters or such, just make sure you don't put any other fish together with him in a small tank, because he will most probably kill it. We have a few males over here."

Sarah took a look at the small colorful fish and pointed a finger at the black colored one which immediately started flaring at her, spreading all his fins and thus appearing to be much larger and more elegant than before. He swam around in his tank showing off how beautiful he looked when flaring. Sarah immediately found a place for him in her heart and told the sales clerk that this was the fish she wanted.

Chuck smirked, seeing a certain similarity between the black Siamese Fighting Fish, also known as Betta Fish, and his beloved Sarah. Both of them were fighters and both of them were elegant in their own ways, as far as a fish could be elegant, of course.

Back in the Porsche Sarah took the little plastic bag out of the newspaper and took another glance at her new pet. She had never had a fighting fish, nor had she really known of their existence. This little thing fascinated her, how much self-consciousness did a tiny animal like that need to flare at and try to impress a human being which was thousands of times larger than it itself?

"You like that fish, don't you?" Chuck asked amused.

"He's really cute! I mean, did you see how he flared at my finger? I don't think any other fish does that. What should we call him?"

"Um…what names do you usually give to a fish…I don't know… Steve? Or maybe… Dave?"

"I think he should have a name of a big fighter…how about Vitali? You know, like Vitali Klitschko, the boxer?"

"You're into boxing? You never told me! And yeah, I think Vitali fits for a fighting fish."

"Well I'm not really into boxing, but I mean, who doesn't know Vladimir and Vitali Klitschko?"

"You got a point there. They're both really awesome boxers."

As they arrived at Sarah's hotel, they went upstairs and entered her room. She was all excited about finally having a fish again; of course she would never admit it. While she searched for her empty Goldfish bowl, Chuck was holding the little plastic bag containing some water and Vitali. The small fish even started flaring at Chuck while he was in the bag; he sure was full of energy.

When Sarah reappeared with the bowl in her hands which she had just filled with water, Chuck laid Vitali carefully on the surface, so the water temperatures could assimilate.

"Why did you do this, Chuck?" Sarah was sitting on the couch next to the Table with Vitali on it.

"Why did I do what?"

"Take me to the pet shop, buy me a fish, and think of it in the first place."

"Because I remembered today that I hadn't seen your fish in a long time and because I thought that we ought to do something together."

"Thank you, Chuck. It was really sweet. You know, I've always liked fish, I tried to have one every time I had a longer assignment. It's nice to know there's someone at home waiting for you even if it's just for food."

"You know, there's always someone home waiting for you… even if it's not in this room but in a certain apartment in Echo Park."

Sarah couldn't help but smile a megawatt smile. How did Chuck manage to surprise her in normal moments like these? She found his dark brown eyes and looked deep into them, seeing the warmth and the lovable yet incredibly attractive nerd inside them. The nerd she has fallen for but couldn't reveal her real feelings to. Why was there this really annoying rule that a handler was under no circumstances to have a relationship with their asset? In that second it dawned on her that they were in her very hotel room, the only place without any surveillance, no bugs and no cameras.

This very moment she just couldn't keep it in any longer, she closed her eyes and her lips crashed into Chuck's, her arms wrapped around his neck and pulling herself closer to him. A startled but at the same time super happy and overwhelmed Chuck looped his arms one around her waist the other behind her head and pulled her even more to him while the kiss became deeper. Only breaking it in order to breathe for a few seconds, both of them had huge smiles creeping up on their faces and as both their minds were in the act of processing what had just happened, they leaned in for another kiss.


End file.
